Lesson Series 58: Racial discrimination legislation in Hong Kong

Racial discrimination is an issue that goes to the very root of equality before the law and the human dignity of all. Together with more violent forms of racial discrimination, there also exists a quieter form of institutional discrimination. While legislation prohibiting any form of racial discrimination is meant to be a protection, when the law itself is discriminatory in nature or poorly drafted, it ends up as a means to legitimize the abuse it is meant to protect against. This is common in many Asian countries, where rule of law is not yet genuinely established.